*I am posting this photograph with the permission of its owner, who is seeking information about it. *
Link to photo: http://i.imgur.com/K8SsSmk.jpg
I have a family friend who is 94 years old, (b. 1922). This is a portrait of her and her mother, she says. (There may be a bit of confusion, as she told me originally that the infant was her mother. However, given the timeline, I think it's more possible that my friend is indeed the infant.)
The rest of the family you see here did not make it through the Genocide alive.
My friend never learned much about her mother’s side of the family because it was too painful for her to talk about. But now, she is curious about her family tree.
I know this is a long shot, but can anybody deduce anything at all about this family from the photograph? What can you tell, if anything, about their lives here? Is the clothing typical or special in any way? Any insight is welcome and appreciated, as she’s very eager to learn anything about her history. Thank you.
P.S. sorry for the glare, I didn’t want to disturb the photograph by taking it off the wall.
I can't offer you much help with the masculine clothing here, as it's mostly traditional and I simply don't have much knowledge of folk dress. But the woman and older girl both appear to be dressed in Western fashions, which I can tell you a bit about!
The standing young woman's dress has a very slight fullness at the top of her sleeves, ruffled capelet oversleeves, and vertical bodice decoration - all of this points to the dress having been made around 1898-1899. The way her hair is rolled up into a pompadour in front, however, is not something you really start to see until the very end of 1900. (The rest of her hair seems to be down due to her youth, unless that's just a shadow in the photo.) The mother's dress or suit, on the other hand, has smoothly-fitted sleeves and curved lapels, and fits with fashion for about 1900-1905.
What seems most likely to me is that this is a portrait of a middle class family just a few years into the 20th century. The standing girl is not old enough to have her clothing's fashionability be of much importance, so she's wearing older dresses - but can do her hair in a more contemporary way. So the infant probably is her mother, as she originally said.
If you dont find your answer you can contact staff at the Armenian Genocide Museum.
